Children's home run by Kingston upon Hull City Council

Inspection report for children's home: 2589771 1 Registered provider: Hull City Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this childrens home

This home is owned and run by a local authority. It is registered to provide care for up to 2 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties or have learning disabilities.

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Information about this childrens home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2019. The manager holds the registration of this and another children’s home in the local area for the same provider.

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Information about this childrens home

There were 2 children living at the home at the time of the inspection. The inspector spoke with both children during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 18 February 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2589771 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/02/2025 Full Good 06/11/2023 Full Good 27/02/2023 Full Good 09/11/2021 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 2589771 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive child-focused care throughout their time living in the home. Professionals are positive about the care that the children receive. One professional said that ‘things have rapidly improved’ for one child in their child since they moved into the home. Staff work hard to get to know children’s personalities, their needs and their experiences so that they can give them the right care as soon as they meet them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff nurture the children by spending quality time with them, reading bedtime stories and watching films together. They are highly attuned to the children’s needs. Children have good relationships with staff and were seen presenting as happy, and they confirmed this when spoken to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and welcoming and feels like a family home. There are photos of children on the walls, and the children enjoy spending time with staff in the home. The children's bedrooms are in line with their personal tastes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to make good progress in all areas of their care. While there has been a significant delay in finding the right education provider for one of the children, the manager has escalated this appropriately. The child is now settled and happy in an alternative provision that is well matched to meet their needs. One professional said that the child’s success at school is down to the care they receive and how hard the staff worked to help school understand them. The other child receives education through a part-time timetable. Staff are supportive and use the rest of the time to engage the child in activities to enhance their learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff make sure children take part in activities that they enjoy, such as swimming and scooter riding in the park. One child is supported to go to the stables often, and there are discussions underway about the loan of a horse. Children see people who are important to them regularly, and the staff make sure that this happens by keeping in touch with the parents and carers of their brothers and sisters and friends.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move into the home, staff get to know them well before they arrive. One child’s former foster carer praised the support she received and the way in which the staff learned the child’s routines and needs by spending time with them before they moved to the home. There is a robust process to ensure that the needs of children can be met before they move in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move on from the home, staff take great care to ensure that this works as well as possible for them. For one child who moved out recently, staff made sure the child had a positive ending with a trip with their favourite member of staff. Staff made sure that the child had everything they needed and supported the new carer to better understand how to keep the child safe online and on their phone. Inspection report for children’s home: 2589771 4

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children are safeguarded well by the staff in the home. The comprehensive and easy-to- follow safety plans help staff to understand the risks and guide them to manage them effectively. When new risks emerge, staff act promptly to manage these and update children’s safety plans.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

There are clear and understandable rules and boundaries that help children to feel safe. One professional said that staff are ‘very consistent’ with one child in their care, which has helped them settle quickly. When there is behaviour that is unwanted, staff are skilled in managing it. Conversations with children help them to develop skills to avoid unwanted behaviours, and there are discussions in team and individual supervision sessions about how best to help children to manage difficult situations.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children do not often go missing from the home, but when they do, staff know what to do. Prompt action is taken to locate them, and relevant procedures are followed. Children are welcomed home after any missing-from-home episode and return home interviews routinely take place.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

There has been limited need for physical intervention, but when it has been used it has been necessary and proportionate. Staff and the child are given the opportunity to discuss it afterwards, and children are helped to develop new strategies to avoid unwanted behaviours in the future.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children are helped to keep safe online. Staff work with children to help them understand risks from online sources and monitor their devices according to children’s plans. One child’s screen time has significantly reduced since moving to the home, as staff spend time with the child helping them to discover activities they like, instead of using screens as a pacifier.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is a visible presence in the home. She is ambitious for children, has a good understanding of their needs and has high expectations of the staff to provide children with the care that they deserve.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager builds good working relationships with other professionals and challenges them when necessary. She advocates for children and escalates any issues promptly. Communication with professionals is very good.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision sessions take place regularly for all staff. Most staff benefit from a high level of reflection during supervision about their work with the children. In addition to this, staff benefit from regular team meetings with a psychologist, who offers an opportunity for further in-depth reflection as a team. This has a positive effect on the children and on staff practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2589771 5 Most staff are suitably qualified, and when new staff start at the home, there is a comprehensive induction process. Recruitment checks are thorough.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff training is usually up to date, and the manager tracks when training is going to be out of date so that it can be arranged. One staff member is out of timescales to complete their level 3 National Vocational Qualification, but additional support has now been put in place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff enjoy working at the home, and when there are any difficulties, they share their feelings about these with the managers. There is an open culture where staff are able to talk about concerns. There have been a number of challenges this year with a high level of staff absence. The manager has also been supporting another provision for a period and staff have been asked to support by working there or assisting staff from that provision. This has caused disruption to the staff and to the children but has now been addressed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

No requirements or recommendations were raised following this inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2589771 6

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the social care common inspection framework. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with The Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the 'Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards'. Inspection report for children’s home: 2589771 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Guildhall, Alfred Gelder Street, Hull HU1 2AA

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Inspector

Amy Groom, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2589771 8 regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children's services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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